5 things I learned about Japan

When I returned from my solo trip to New York City back in mid-2013, I was star struck. I had seen nothing so beautiful, well planned, systematic, and (relatively) clean. I visited four first-world countries after that but NYC remained my favourite. I wouldn’t stop ranting about it. New York this, East Coast that.

My husband picked Japan for a 15-day vacation in April. It was completely his idea because I remember resisting it.

“Who goes to Japan for a holiday?” I’d asked. Right enough, every single person I told about my upcoming holiday asked me the exact same question; or at least framed it as one of the many questions they asked: “Why Japan? Are you going there for work?”

A very large part of me does not want to write what I am about too because it fears that Japan will become the next Switzerland if Indians discovered it. By that I mean a samosa stall at Mount Jungfrau (for real).

I mean, come on!

But I am going to say it because Japan makes the East Coast look like a cranky little village. Here are a few observations I made in the country of tomorrow. After all, it is already tomorrow in Japan!

Chilling scenes at Kyoto's Imperial Palace

1)     Japan is affordable 

Yup, that’s what a blanket statement looks like. Let me explain, bottled water costs YEN 95 for 2 litres which is about Rs 50. Singapore, on the other hand (and for comparison), is one of the most expensive when it comes to packaged water (in my experience).

We ate scrumptious and wholesome local food for as little as Rs 500 for two in all of the cities we visited. And we lived in the most central parts of Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo for merely Rs 4000 a night. Planning is key; the country has something for everyone.   

Entry to most gardens is free. 

2)    Japan is one of the most beautiful, culturally rich, and scientifically advanced countries in the world

And are they punctual or what!? I thought I was type A. While you know about the scientifically advanced bit, the bullet train seriously goes so fast, I had to wait for my ears to pop every 5 minutes, Japan has so much more than sakura (cherry blossom) and anime.

For example, in the month of April, Kyoto, which is home to Gion – the geisha district, hosts Miyako Odori (Dance of the Capital). It is a collaborative performance of dance, music, and elaborate set design by maikos (geishas in training) and professional geishas. While you won't understand a word if you don’t know Japanese, the essence of the show and the art of Japanese story-telling will stay with you for ever.

But it is drop-dead beautiful first!

3)    The Japanese are SO friendly!

This is for real. We experienced a good dose of their amicable nature in all the three cities we stayed. Yes, even bustling and busy Tokyo.

Picture this: Two very Indian travellers are lost again looking for a restaurant on their TripAdvisor app so they enter an eatery to ask for directions. The girl goes to the open counter, gets the server’s attention and points at her phone. What happens next?

The server understood what I was asking her but didn’t know how to explain the location to me. So, as any Japanese would, she left what she was doing and walked the 200 meter distance to the location with us.

This happened 3 times in different settings.

4)    There is no place for the vegetarian in Japan

If you’re a fussy eater who is constantly on the move across neighbourhoods in Japan, you better not get hungry without an eating plan. I’d say the same thing to vegetarians, vegans, people with food allergies, etc.

We once ordered a vegetarian vegetable Japanese salad that came topped with a generous helping of minced chicken. Besides, all our orders were in sign languages because restaurants rarely have menus in English. Which brings me to the next observation…

But loads for vegetation!

5)    The Japanese don’t need no English

When you are that humble, self-sufficient, and proud to be Japanese, you don’t need English to get you by! I’d peek into the phones of fellow commuters on the subway and I’d see them typing away or browsing the internet in Japanese. I didn’t see one local read or say anything in English (unless forced by our party of 2). And I like to get comfortable and stare.

We visited the tourist centre in Nara and the only girl we spoke to in fluent English (in 15 days) was shocked to learn we didn’t know how to write our mother tongue perfectly. 

When I asked her if she could write Japanese, pat came the reply, “Of course! I am Japanese!”

So, like, I love Japan. I want to go back. Sigh.

PS: I have some more pictures put up on Instagram: @SabGhiasi Plus, my food tales are documented at @Gobble_up

One can only stop and stare at beautiful things.